Another mass shooting shocks the country

Tuesday

Sep 17, 2013 at 2:00 AM

WASHINGTON — At least 13 people are dead and several others were wounded after a shooter opened fire Monday at the Washington Navy Yard, police said, spreading fear and chaos across the region as authorities sought to contain the panic.

The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — At least 13 people are dead and several others were wounded after a shooter opened fire Monday at the Washington Navy Yard, police said, spreading fear and chaos across the region as authorities sought to contain the panic.

The incident, in which the death toll rose almost hourly, represents the single worst loss of life in the District since an airliner plunged into the Potomac River in 1982, killing 78.

President Barack Obama Monday expressed sympathy for the victims of the shooting and said justice must be sought.

"I've made it clear to my team that we want the investigation to be seamless, so that local and federal authorities are working together," he said.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier and Mayor Vincent Gray announced the mounting number of casualties in a series of news conferences.

The suspected shooter, identified by the FBI as Aaron Alexis, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas, is among the 13 dead. Alexis, who grew up in Brooklyn and had lived in Queens, was a military contractor, one official said.

The Associated Press reported defense officials said Alexis was working as an information technology contractor, but it wasn't clear if he was assigned at the military base. It wasn't initially known which company employed him.

As a contractor, he could have had a badge that might have gained him access to the base.

Alexis was a former Navy reservist, serving from 2007 to early 2011, the Associated Press reported.

The defense officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly, the Associated Press reported.

Even hours after the rampage began, it still was unclear if the shooting was the act of a lone gunman, or if other shooters were involved.

Lanier initially said authorities were looking for two more potential shooters dressed in military-style clothing. Shortly after she announced a description of two suspects, city officials said one had been located and cleared.

Gray said no motive is known yet. He said there is no reason to believe it was an act of terrorism, adding he could not rule it out.

Gray said in addition to those killed, about a dozen people were hurt. It was not clear whether those people were shot or suffered other injuries, he said.

Lanier described the other possible suspect, who had not been located, as a black man in his 40s with gray sideburns, wearing an olive-drab military-style uniform. He, and the man who was cleared, came under suspicion when they were seen on surveillance videos.

Alexis was armed with an assault rifle and a handgun, two law enforcement officials said. One said he also had a shotgun. One official said not all of the weapons have been found.

The carnage began about 8 a.m. when the U.S. Navy said three shots were fired at Building 197, headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command. About 3,000 people work in the building.

Rick Mason, a program management analyst who is a civilian with the U.S. Navy, said a gunman was shooting from a fourth-floor overlook in the hall outside his office. He said the gunman was aiming at people in the building's first-floor cafeteria.

A woman who gave her name as Terry Durham said thatas she and others were evacuating, she saw a man down the hall raise a rifle and fire toward them, hitting a wall. "He didn't say a word," said co-worker, Todd Brundage.

At least two police officers were among those shot. Police said one is a D.C. police officer who was shot twice in the leg and taken to a hospital. Lanier said the officer was in stable condition after engaging the shooter with gunfire. The other was a base officer.

Janis Orlowski of Washington Hospital Center said three victims in all were brought to the center, all in critical condition but alert. The other two victims at the hospital were female civilians, Orlowski said.

The incident forced schools, offices and homes into an enforced lockdown.

Senate buildings on Capitol Hill went on lockdown at about 3 p.m.; it was partially lifted later to allow staffers to go home.

The Washington Nationals baseball team, whose ballpark is near the Navy Yard, postponed a Monday night game. Instead, they will play a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Ten public and charter schools and a public school administration building in the District also went on lockdown, and flights out of Reagan National Airport were briefly halted, causing delays even after they began departing again.

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